Urban Legend - New Year's resolutions
by Arches67
Summary: (6th story of the Urban Legend series - Crossover Daredevil - Person of Interest) John Reese and Matt Murdock meet on a cold winter day.


Daredevil / Person of Interest crossover. New instalment in my Urban Legend universe.

This takes place at the end of season 2 of Daredevil, sort of a missing scene between the burial of Elektra and Matt talking to Karen. Sometime during season 5 for Person of Interest (although timing may be a little "off").

Beta reading by Zendog, thank you again.

* * *

Matt was walking back to his home after the taxi had dropped him and Stick at Grand Central Station. His former trainer had a train to catch and Matt didn't feel like going back to his place immediately. Walking in the cold streets of New York felt good. He couldn't wait for the night to come so he could slip into his armored suit and go out. More than ever he needed to feel useful. And if he was totally honest with himself he needed to hit something; hard and preferably bad guys. Burying Elektra had been much harder than he had expected…

Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the tall frame until it was by his side.

"Going to a funeral?" asked a teasing voice. John couldn't help feel a little smug at being able to surprise Matt. Usually the blind man could spot him a block away.

"More like coming from one."

The sad tone put a dampener on the humor.

"I'm sorry," John apologized. "You always look so formal with your suits and ties, I didn't realize you were wearing black for a reason."

"No problem. How are you doing John?"

"I could use a drink. And you look that you could to."

"The sun is over the yard arm somewhere?" Because it definitely wasn't the time for alcohol on the East Coast.

"Exactly."

"Then lead the way." Matt put his hand on John's elbow and let him take them to the closest bar.

It didn't take long before John pushed a door open. The heat of the place was almost stifling after the crisp air outside, and Matt instinctively blocked out the smells of the bar. Too many alcoholic vapors in the air for the atmosphere not to feel choking.

They sat down by a table in a corner, Matt letting John have the seat facing the entrance door. The former operative had a small smile remembering the first time they had shared a drink and argued over the same position.

They ordered their drinks and waited in silence.

"We never did get around to that second drink," Matt commentated.

It had been quite a while since John had called him to offer to have a beer together. They had had a pleasant evening, and a less than boring end of it, but somehow neither one had ever reached out to repeat the experience.

"I've been kind of busy," John explained. Quite the understatement given the situation he found himself in. But how did you explain, even to a fellow vigilante, that you were trying to save the world from an evil AI?

"Why does your tone make that sound so scary?" Matt could almost feel the waves of tension coming off from John's body.

"You're way too perceptive for your own good, Matt…"

The waiter put their drinks on the table. Reaching for their bottles, they toasted in silence and gulped down a long swallow.

"Someone close?" John asked softly referring to Matt's first sentence.

Matt seemed to think about it for a moment. The answer wasn't as obvious as it should be.

"We used to be." He rolled his bottle, making the liquid swirl.

"I swear, Murdock. I've had less trouble getting information from Russian operatives than getting you to talk!"

"I knew it! I was right. You used to be a secret agent!" Matt exclaimed with a laugh.

John chuckled remembering their very first meeting. The way Matt had been able to read him had been upsetting to say the least. But now John found it easy to admit to his previous life when he was with Matt. A rare occasion to be himself around somebody. It felt almost liberating.

"And I know alcohol makes you chatty, so speak up or I'll make sure to keep the drinks coming," John threatened.

Matt smiled in amusement. He took a sip from his drink and sighed.

"I met Elektra when I was in College."

"College sweetheart?"

"Not sure she would have let you get away with that word."

"Oh," John exclaimed in surprise. "Here I thought you were a model student and now you're telling me you already prowled the rooftops at night?"

"No, not yet," Matt answered shaking his head in amusement. "Foggy and I crashed a fancy dress party. I was about to be thrown out by security when she said I was with her."

"Taking pity on the blind guy?"

"More like rich bored pest looking for some action."

"Matt's younger years on the wild side..."

"Yeah." Matt chuckled. "She had no fear. She saw right through my perfect student façade."

John made a sign to the waiter to renew their glasses.

"It's far too early to get drunk, John. I'll talk; no need to turn to your CIA techniques."

"I never told you I was CIA," John objected.

"No, you just did," Matt answered with a smug smile.

"You would have been one hell of an agent," John whispered.

"Except for one tiny itsy bitsy detail…"

"Oh come on, you see more than most sighted people." They never discussed Matt's blindness. Most of the time John almost forgot that Matt was indeed blind; he certainly wasn't challenged even if he had to play the part most of the time.

"I meant that I will not kill another human being."

So much for broaching the topic. Of course, his sight wasn't the problem…

"I didn't enjoy killing people." John felt obliged to clarify that point. He knew how Daredevil worked, and how much the Catholic in Matt despised being the executioner.

"But you still did it when ordered to."

"I was too good at following orders for a while." John took a small sip from his drink as if needing to wash the taste of death out of his mouth.

"And you were telling me about your younger years with Elektra." He wasn't letting Matt change their topic of conversation.

"We had fun; she was wild. Then she decided I needed to punish the man responsible for my father's death. She couldn't understand that I refused to kill him."

"Hell of a way to break up a relationship."

"Yes, I never saw her again… Until she broke into my flat a few weeks ago, asking for my help."

"Way to rekindle a relationship."

"Except that I wasn't interested… So she explained the real reason for her sudden return."

Matt started peeling off the paper from the beer bottle. He wasn't about to tell John about Nobu and his army. John waited for a few minutes then chuckled slightly.

"Okay, you're not going to tell me about it, no problem. We agreed from the beginning that some areas are off limits." John took a swallow from his drink. "A pity though. From what you have told me she must have been pretty bad ass. You two could have prowled the night together."

Matt winced. John wasn't far from the truth. The two of them had indeed been quite the team. For a short while.

"I found out she had been trained by Stick."

"Your Jedi master?"

"He wasn't a Jedi!" Matt exclaimed shaking his head. He really didn't want to imagine Stick's face the next time he decided to watch Star Wars.

"You haven't told me that much about him, so excuse me if I had to fill in the blanks."

"But you could say that he won her to the dark side…" Matt sighed. "Although in the end, she sacrificed her life to save me."

"And you had to bury her on Christmas. That's tough."

"Or ironic that someone should die on the day we celebrate a birth."

"Finch would probably call it the circle of life."

"What would you call it?"

"The life we chose doesn't care for holidays."

"Last year I almost died on the same day…" Matt whispered remembering how John had found him in the snow and saved his life.

John watched the blind lawyer in silence for a few minutes. It was obvious Matt was hurting but he wouldn't talk about why or how his friend Elektra had died. Time to change the topic. The guy looked like he needed a break.

"And how are things going for Nelson & Murdock? I saw that you represented Frank Castle."

Matt sighed deeply and didn't answer.

"That bad? Defending the Punisher turned out to be bad publicity for your practice?" John asked misunderstanding the younger man.

"There's no Nelson & Murdock anymore…"

"Foggy asked you to choose between your day or night job?" John guessed.

"Something like that."

John had always wondered how the young man managed to juggle the two lives. Now apparently one of them had finally crashed.

He watched Matt's face and decided to drop the topic... Another one. At this rate, he'd just pay for the drinks and leave. Seeing Matt was nice, but sitting face to face with nothing to say was going to be awkward fast.

He did have news to share with Matt though. Bad news of course, and definitely not a good day to share it. But was there ever a good day to talk about the death of a friend? He took a sip from his beer.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you," he started.

Matt frowned. "Not something good from your tone."

"Root is dead."

Matt opened his mouth, but the what? didn't make it out. Sadness covered his face and his shoulders dropped noticeably. He remained silent for a moment.

"What happened?" he asked after a while.

"She was killed… saving Finch actually."

Matt turned his bottle idly, then took a sip. John couldn't help a small smile.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For not asking for details."

"Because I know you won't tell me anyway." Matt's tone was clipped.

John didn't need extra senses to feel the slight anger of the young lawyer. "You know why," he explained softly.

"Yeah, yeah… Might get myself killed… You don't want to put me in danger... In the meantime, Elektra gets killed, Root gets killed. Who else needs to die before we can give each other a straight answer?" Matt kept his voice low but he wanted to yell.

"Root and I did blow up a lab together, after all. I know what you do is shady; it's not going to change anything between us."

John sighed deeply. Matt had a point. The way he had deflected the question about what had happened with Elektra proved that he was also very deep into a disturbing situation.

"You're right. You're probably entitled to know the truth about us," John admitted resigned.

Matt raised his head in surprise. That was unexpected.

"But not right now. I need to sort out a few things first." And he really didn't have time to spend sitting around drinks with a friend. "If we get out of this alive, I promise I'll tell you. How does that sound?" he offered.

"I don't like the _if_ in your sentence…" Matt answered with a frown. "That bad?"

"Yes."

Matt chuckled. "You know, as a lawyer I'm used to getting people to talk. You're the worst case I've ever faced."

"Good thing I'm not on the stand then."

"John, I will make sure you keep your promise," he stated watching him seriously.

"I never make promises lightly, Matt." If -because he really wasn't sure bringing Samaritan down wouldn't kill them all- then if it turned out all right in the end, telling Matt what they did wouldn't be such a risk anymore.

Matt raised his bottle and clinked it against John's. "To friends and to promises."

"To friends and to promises," John answered lifting his own bottle.

They drank in silence, like confirming that vow.

"So, how are things going for Daredevil?" he asked dropping his voice on the last word.

Matt smiled. "I have a new mask."

"What was wrong with the old one?"

"It broke when Punisher shot me in the head."

"What?" John exclaimed, amazed at the even tone used by the lawyer. "I can't believe you seem that unfazed by it."

"I wasn't that calm when I spent a full day against a wall waiting for my hearing to come back." Matt shrugged admitting the fear he had felt at the time.

"For the first time in your life, you were really blind," John guessed. Probable concussion, he thought. The guy was lucky it hadn't been worse than losing his hearing for a few hours. "And you still you took his case. I get that balancing your two lives is really a challenge."

"The lying to your friends is the worst part of it."

"I thought Foggy knew about your secret identity."

"Karen," Matt said with a sigh. "She's way too smart for her own good. She doesn't believe in the clumsiness anymore."

"And she's more than a friend to you," John stated. The way Matt talked about her made it obvious he loved her.

Matt had a smile. "We only had one date, but…"

"Sometimes it's all it takes." John started peeling his own bottle. "Don't let her slip away. You'll regret it all your life," he whispered almost in confidence.

Jessica. John had told him about her a year ago, when he had found him in the snow. Matt hadn't heard most of what John had said, too bothered by his uncontrollable senses, but he had obviously been madly in love with her… and had lost her.

"I should tell her the truth." Matt made it sound like he was facing death row.

"Definitely."

"I'd rather go jump in the East River."

"Didn't do you any good the last time…" John reminded him.

Matt winced. He straightened his back and looked at John square in the face.

"I need to tell her."

"Yes."

Not waiting for a moment Matt took out his phone and called Karen.

"Could you meet me at the office?" he asked.

John couldn't hear the answer, but the short nod made it obvious. He pulled a few bills from his wallet and left them on the table as he rose.

"Go, don't let her slip away," he instructed clapping his shoulder.

Matt rose on unsteady legs, a bit overwhelmed by the sudden decision. He'd get his mask and tell her… And if Karen left him standing… Well he had been lying to her for almost two years... He could hardly expect that she would be as forgiving as Foggy.

The New Year was only a few days away. Time to make resolutions…

* * *

 _Matt walked purposefully toward their offices. He held a paper bag in his hand._

 _He entered the office. Karen was there, looking a bit nervous. He wasn't feeling very calm either._

 _"Thank you for agreeing to meet here."_

 _Karen hesitated. "I don't really know what I'm doing here."_

 _"I brought you something."_

 _"You didn't need to."_

 _Right, he hadn't given her anything for Christmas either. Opening the paper bag, he pulled out his mask. There wasn't any easy way to say this, so he just said the words._

 _"I'm Daredevil."_

* * *

The End


End file.
